Regret Smashed. 2023!

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Regret Smashed. 2023!

Contributed by Howard Strickland on Jan 12, 2023 (message contributor)

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Scripture: Philippians 3:1-3, James 4:7

Denomination: Church Of God

Summary: 3 important truths about regret: Smash regret The spirit of offense Live free in Jesus.

Philippians 3:1-3NLT

Perpetual New Year's resolution:

Vow to do some of the things you’ve always wanted to do but couldn’t find the time.

Call up a forgotten friend. Drop an old grudge, and replace it with some pleasant memories.

Share a funny story with someone whose sprits

are dragging. A good laugh can be very good medicine.

Vow not to make a promise you don’t think you can keep. Pay a debt. Give a soft answer. Free yourself of envy and malice.

Encourage some youth, Share your experience, and offer support. Young people need role models.

Make a genuine effort to stay in closer touch with family and good friends.

Resolve to stop magnifying small problems and shooting from the lip. Words that you have to eat can be hard to digest.

Find the time to be kind and thoughtful. All of us have the same allotment 24 hours a day.

Give a compliment. It might give someone a badly needed lift. Think things through. Forgive an injustice. Listen more. Be kind. Apologize when you realize you are wrong. An apology never diminishes a person. It elevates him.

Don’t blow your own horn. If you’ve done something praiseworthy, someone will notice eventually.

Examine the demands you make on others.

Lighten up. When you feel like blowing your top, ask yourself, "Will it matter in a week from today?".

Laugh the loudest when the joke is on you.

The sure way to have a friend is to be one.

Avoid the rebellious and pessimists. They drag you down and contribute nothing.

Don’t discourage a beginner from trying something risky. Nothing ventured means nothing gained.

Be optimistic. The can-do spirit is the fuel that

makes things go.

Read something up-lifting. Don’t read trash. You won’t eat garbage - why put trash in your head?

Don’t abandon your old-fashioned principles. They never go out of style.

When courage is needed, ask yourself, "If not me, who? If not now, when?"

Walk tall, and smile more. You’ll look 10 years younger.

Don’t be afraid to say, "I love you". Say it again. They are the sweetest words in the world. SOURCE: Ann Landers, as quoted on Pastors.com, http://www.cse.fau.edu/~mahesh/quotes/newyear.html.

“Today I’ve come to smash regret. To begin 2023 free in Jesus name!”

Philippians 3:1-3NLT “Whatever happens, my dear brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord. I never get tired of telling you these things, and I do it to safeguard your faith. 2 Watch out for those dogs, those people who do evil, those mutilators who say you must be circumcised to be saved. 3 For we who worship by the Spirit of God are the ones who are truly circumcised. We rely on what Christ Jesus has done for us. We put no confidence in human effort,”

Look with me, Paul writes verse 1a. “Whatever happens, my dear brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord.

Again...Here’s an important truth-”Whatever may occur, If I am of God, whatever is God’s will/God’s providence, I will rejoice in the Lord!”

Notice, the apostle Paul states he never gets tired of warning fellow believers about these people, Paul calls them, ‘dogs.’

From a prison cell Paul pleads with fellow believers to watch out, be on guard!

-For what? Dogs.

These proud ones who trust in the flesh, dogs.

“Now I love dogs, Especially my dog, Sophie.

However, I’m reminded of how dogs will return and eat their own vomit.” P.H

Paul commands, trust not in your own resources, refuse your own strength, for if you trust in your own strength, you will return to your own vomit. -Dogs! (Refuse to go back)!

“I proclaim this morning the 2023 will be regret free.” P.H

Thus saith the Lord, “It’s time to get off the merry-go-round, rid yourself of all regret, Stop reliving it. Trust Me, I will prove My worth to those who trust Me.”

Jesus proves Himself, Acts 1:3AMP To these [men] He also showed Himself alive after His suffering [in Gethsemane and on the cross], by [a series of] many infallible proofs and unquestionable demonstrations, appearing to them over a period of forty days and talking to them about the things concerning the kingdom of God.

According to, Philippians 3:2 Those who try to add to their salvation are like dogs.

These folk stay frustrated, judgmental, they can be controlling, fault finding, confused, and eventually they become angry. Filled with regret.

“Somebody did them wrong, Something hurt their feelings, They live disconnected. Up and down, in and out, Under committed. Hurt. Untrusting.”

The apostle Paul calls people who think and do evil, people that know the scripture but don’t live by them. Those who mis-use God’s word. Mis-use God’s grace-Dogs.

“As a pastor in my experience, I find these people as hard, judgmental, cynical, angry, filled with regret, fruitless, and gift-less. They’re Stuck.” P.H

Back to the text, Philippians 3:3NKJV For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh,”

Here’s our testimony- “We are the circumcision, We take pleasure in Jesus doing what He wants to do.”

* We are those who worship God in the spirit. * We are those who rejoice in Christ Jesus.

* We are those who have no confidence in the flesh. (Our flesh).

Speaking to a veteran from a addiction recovery center. He stated, “Addiction is a terrible cycle of insanity.’ ‘One more high, I’ll quit tomorrow.” He stated, “Insanity is hiding a bottle or a drug, several times a day, and when the high is almost over, getting the bottle back out, and getting high all over again.

And then hiding it once more. -Insane.”

Paul goes on in Philippians 3, He states, “If anyone could depend on their flesh, I could.”

He goes on with a list of his accomplishments:

Born a Jew, of the tribe of Benjamin. Circumcised the eighth day, I lived with strict orthodox Judaism, I've lived a separated and devout life as a Pharisee, And concerning the righteousness of the Torah, no one surpassed me.”

Philippians 3:6b...Furthermore, as a fiery defender of the truth, I persecuted the messianic believers with religious zeal.

Imagine, what it was like when Paul got to heaven and Stephen sees him. (Saul of Tarsus/Paul, holds the garments of Stephen as he is being stoned to death. Saul kind of smiles with pride and winks to Stephen.

However, now Paul gets saved, and he sees Stephen as he arrives.

Philippians 3:7-9NLT I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. 8 Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ 9 and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith.

About regret-Regret steals faith. Regrets keep you turning backward. Reminiscing, hitting the replay button. Regret isn’t welcomed in the present.

Notice, regret will keep you reliving the past.

Un-forgiveness, and regret go hand n hand. Both of these emotions can become long-term, regret and or, un-forgiveness attaches itself to people, and in return, they live with the spirit of offense.

This carried offense weighs heavily on its recipient, it makes the offended-one act out through negative self-talk, wrong perceptions and thoughts of themselves as well as others. They self sabotage.

Proverbs 18:19NKJV A brother offended is harder to win than a strong city, And contentions are like the bars of a castle.

The person who lives with a spirit of offense sometimes withdraws, goes into seclusion, begins to verbally assault others, operate and live in attack mode. The spirit of offense drives the offended one to live in a defensive mode.

Jesus states in, Luke 17:2NKJV It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.

This I promise- If you possess a spirit of offense, you in return, offend.

Again, Paul states, “Everything I know, everything I accomplished is worthless.”

Observation: When you go to heaven, you’d be surprised that many possession you own, will be thrown away, or giving to the poor.

Philippians 3:10-11TPT And I continually long to know the wonders of Jesus and to experience the overflowing power of his resurrection working in me. I will be one with him in his sufferings and become like him in his death. 11Only then will I be able to experience complete oneness with him in his resurrection from the realm of death.

On January 8, 2023 I want to speak out God’s favor upon CECC in a prayerful and prophetic mode:

Year 2023, will be a year for spiritual growth. Year 2023, will be a year to accept your total dependance on Jesus. Year 2023, will be a year of love, joy, peace, deliverance.